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Surface-mount technology (SMT) has transformed modern manufacturing. Businesses are continuing to discover all the advantages it can offer to their products. Unlike PCB assembly that uses through-hole technology, the components in SMT are directly mounted on the surface of the PCB. There is no need to have lead wires that directly connect the top and bottom layers. This offers a wide range of new options to PCB design and printing, with only a few disadvantages.

Here are some of the many advantages of SMT:

1.Smaller Electronics Devices

Smaller PCBs can be manufactured, so electronic devices are smaller in size and this is because of SMT. They are also becoming more and more minute every year because SMT equipment become more precise. This developing set of manufacturing methods enables electronics to be created that are higher-class than alternative manufacturing techniques in many ways.

2.Fewer Holes Drilled

When a drill has to pierce through a PCB, it decreases the physical strength of the board and at the same time, it increases the likelihood of a fracture. PCB assembly that uses SMT only needs a few holes, causing the finalized product to have greater strength.

3.Component Mounting

Because the bottom of SMT boards does not have to be allotted for wirings, it opens up a whole new layer for component mounting. It further decreases the size of finished product, as well as having lower manufacturing costs than making multiple layers.

4.Higher Component Density

SMT could take far smaller parts than through-hole technology, and each year, they are actually getting smaller. The sizes of the parts could be not more than a quarter of a millimeter. This means more systems can be packed into a single PCB, while using less space.

5.Improved Vibrator Resistance

PCBs that use through-hole technology are highly prone to having wires or components coming loose in cases where the device is often vibrated or shaken. This makes PCBs that use SMT a superior option for a broad range of consumer-grade and professional-class equipment, particularly the devices that are likely to be carried in a pocket or bag. Because of this, haptic feedback techniques are also possible in small devices.

6.Faster Prototyping

It is easier and faster to set up a PCB assembly line to manufacture small batches of units created with SMT, than to make them using through-hole technology. With modern methods, electronics companies could get full prototypes in only a few days. This also removes the dependence on large “breadboards” used for prototyping. They could also go directly to prototype designs, which really look like the final product.

7.Mix and Match Methods

Through-hole PCBs cannot support SMT components, but when needed, SMT could still use through-hole components. This is helpful because there are some component types that SMT works poorly with, particularly those that produce substantial heat. For instance, it is common for a surface-mount PCB to use through-hole assembly for its power supply.

8.Lower Radio Frequency (RF) Emissions/Interferences

SMT components have a smaller radiation loop area than through-hole and they also have lower resistance. As a result, the device is more predictable under continued usages and easier to comply with RF broadcast standards.

9.Faster Robotic Circuit Assembly

Surface-mount technologies could produce more than 100,000 PCBs per hour.

SMT Produces Superior Products

In almost all cases, there is no more reason for PCB assembly to use through-hole mounting technology as a primary manufacturing method. This is because there are too many advantages to using SMT. Electronics companies should partner with PCB manufacturers that do not use older standards. That way, they can have much better PCB designs and ultimately, better finished products.

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